Waltz With Me
by Ying Tao
Summary: Seto Kaiba is sent to a world of misery, rescued by a white-haired young man. Together, the two seek hope and faith in a world that is crumbling around them, becoming strange friends. But the past is always right behind them. Eventual Kaiba x Ryou.
1. Chapter 1

**:: Disclaimer ::** I do not own or claim to own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters featured in this fanfiction!! They are owned by the amazing Kazuki Takahashi and the anime by Studio Gallop. I do not own the music or lyrics to 'Watashi to Warutsu wo' either, which belong to Chihiro Onitsuka.

**:: A/N ::** Hello everyone! This is not the first time I've written a story, but I believe this is the first time I've had enough determination to try and finish a story, updating regularly. Yu-Gi-Oh has always been one of my favorite series, and one of the reasons why is because there are so many different ways to interpret the relationships between characters, so many different pairings to build off of...I love writing fanfiction for Yu-Gi-Oh because of the flexibility it gives me.

To be honest, I've never been a fan of the Seto Kaiba x Ryou Bakura pairing until just a few days ago. This is an alternate universe story where I created the setting before I searched for a pairing to slip into the storyline, and...this is how it came out. This world that I've built has been thought over many times in my head, and I've tried writing a variety of stories using the setting, but this is the only fanfiction that's been developed enough for me to post so far.

This story's title is derived from upon a song, 'Watashi to Warutsu wo' [Waltz With Me] by Chihiro Onitsuka. I'll be featuring slightly edited translations of the song lyrics to guide the story at the beginning of every chapter. Various other music, mostly by Chihiro Onitsuka but by a variety of other artists as well, have also heavily influenced the writing of this story, and I'll mention them here in the author notes sections as I continue writing.

A quick warning to all that this will include homosexual relationships. As of right now, there won't be any sexual content, but I can't promise about the future. If I do include any scenes, however, I'll be sure to warn everyone ahead of time. Also, I'm really not a believer of love at first sight, so while there might be hints and cute moments, don't expect any outright statements of love anytime soon. There also may be side pairings coming up later on that I won't reveal right now. You might not particularly support them, but please, don't bash any of the pairings.

I apologize for the lengthy author's notes, but I just felt like I should introduce the story a bit before you begin reading! Thank you all for taking the time to read this story, and without further ado, here is the first chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"_The clock stops moving…"_

Rain. It washed all the walls of his mind so that they were a cleansed, pure white, and he loved it. Only when the waves of water were pouring over his body, soaking every inch of his skin, plastering his ashen hair to the sides of his pale face, did he ever feel clean. And so, Ryou loved the rain. It was his savior, stopping the clocks, stopping his thoughts altogether, and it helped him preserve his sanity in a world that was crumbling a little more every day. The rain was pure, the only thing that reached this sullied earth unpolluted by the up-worlders.

So it wasn't the first time he had spent hours wandering through the dark alleyways, simply letting the comfort of the cool, pouring rain soak him and wash away the predicaments his life had cursed him with. It wasn't even the first time he noticed one of the less fortunate collapsed on the muddy pavement, uncertain whether the body was simply in a state of sleep or whether it had already seen its last moments of the misery long before Ryou laid eyes on it. In fact, the bodies on the ground weren't an uncommon sight here. And they definitely didn't concern Ryou in any way.

At least that was what he had always thought. It was a belief he'd always lived by, a survival tactic that would ensure safety for him in this chaotic land of despair and danger, where murderous crimes were everyday occurrences.

But tonight, that would change. At first, Ryou barely noticed the young man as he walked past since he was so used to ignoring the various bodies along the roads. A sudden movement and a small groan from the piles of trash lined across the brick building walls, however, made him retrace his steps to see who had made the sound in the previously silent alleyway.

A rather handsome, if dirty, man was sprawled across the wet concrete, wearing a large, deep blue trench coat, heavily soaked from the rain, his messy hair, which might have been a rich, dark brown color if it hadn't been soiled by the dirt and muck lying all around him, lay across his face and on the ground beneath him. His physical build and facial attributes showed that he probably wasn't much older than Ryou himself, but if he had been standing, he would have been at least a good fifteen centimeters taller. His eyes were closed, a large bruise stained his left cheek, and his brows were knit together in a fitful sleep. A small flush across his cheek revealed signs of a slight fever, and Ryou deduced it was likely the result of staying long hours outside in the freezing rain.

Not that it was any his business _what _condition the man was in, but Ryou was more sympathetic than most residents of the town should be, and he took pity upon the plight that had befallen this man. Kneeling down, Ryou picked up a hem of the man's coat, examining the thick fabric between his fingers.

_Whoever he is, he's definitely not from anywhere around here. _Ryou silently thought to himself as he felt the soft, wet cotton of the coat and the gray shirt lying underneath. _He's an up-worlder. No one from the valley would have clothes like this._

If Ryou were sensible, he'd steal the clothing, or at least the coat, and leave the man out here to fend for himself. It'd probably almost be kind; if the guy survived, he'd be taught quickly the way of life around here, a lesson he'd have to learn sooner or later, and if he died…well, he wouldn't have any use for the coat anyways. Besides, the weather was beginning to cool now in mid-autumn, and after a few months, most of those without shelter would disappear, either lucky enough to have found a temporary residence to hibernate in for the coming season of cold, or cleared off the street and left to rot in the makeshift graveyard outside of the town. This man was no different; he'd disappear and Ryou would never see him again. Ryou needed thicker clothes just as much as the next guy down for the coming winter, and in this constant survival-of-the-fittest town, taking whatever was in front of him would probably be the most intelligent course of action.

But as the man groaned again and wrapped his arms around himself, shivering, Ryou just couldn't bring himself to rip away the bit of warmth from he who had nothing left. In fact, even as Ryou cursed himself for thinking in such a dangerous manner, he wanted to help the up-worlder who had fallen so low, who was unaware of this god forsaken place that he was now trapped in. The reasons the occasional up-worlder was sent down here were many, but that didn't change anything. Nothing could possibly be enough to merit the horrors of a sentence into the valley this town lay in. Most the up-worlders didn't survive their first three days here. And those who did would lose their innocence, their very souls to darkness of the valley.

While some of the residents here, especially Amelda and Valon, believed that the good-for-nothing spoiled brats of the upper realm deserved to be left for the rats, Ryou had always taken pity of the innocents who knew nothing of the sufferings of those in the valley, the innocents who were thrown from whatever lives they'd led before into a world of pain and misery. _No one deserves a fate like that. _Ryou thought quietly to himself, remembering the madness that he had seen far too often in the eyes of the newcomers to this valley of sorrows. Before he knew what he was doing, Ryou took the few steps to close the short distance between himself and the young man who was still lying unconscious, and sat down beside the him, running his fingers through the muddy, brown hair as he began to let his thoughts wander.

_He's just a boy. He's not even a fully grown man…but why should I care anyways? _Ryou could almost laugh at himself for being enough of a fool to let this stranger, this _up-worlder_ work his way into his mind and conscience so deeply, so quickly. _What am I going to do now?_ He certainly couldn't afford to bring this man into his already very messed-up excuse for a life; that wouldn't do either of them any good at all. He chuckled a bit. _Marik and Rishid were right when they told me I was far soft and naive for my own good. But what can I do? I can't just leave him here…_

His thoughts continued to drift about his dilemma, and before he knew it, the soft pitter-patter of the steady rain, light in contrast to the downpour that had taken place just a few minutes ago, had lulled the adolescent to a shallow state of sleep, hand still buried in the stranger's hair.

* * *

**CRASH**

Ryou woke from his doze with a start as he heard the clang of metal hitting the hard cement ground, followed quickly by the 'nya' of a cat that had just knocked over a trash bin. For a minute, he forgot where he was, and wondered why he was soaked to the bone and sitting on the ground, leaning against a hard brick wall right next to piles of reeking trash. Then, as he looked down to a very handsome face framed by wet, brown locks, he remembered the predicament he had put himself into hours before. He also noted that sometime while he had been asleep, the brunet he had been sitting next to had rolled so that his head was positioned across Ryou's lap.

Ryou sighed as the problem at hand began to make his head ache. As he looked up at the sky, he realized that he'd dozed off for quite a few hours; the cloudy but bright light of day had already passed into late twilight, and in a few more minutes night would fall. The rain had stopped, and a cool wind was blowing, rustling the trash bags nearby and sending a shiver down Ryou's spine through his wet, long-sleeved shirt. The chill of night air would be here soon, and he had to make a decision regarding the unconscious body on his lap right away.

Stalling for time before launching into a full scale internal debate with himself again, Ryou swept the brown locks away from the boy's forehead and placed his hand there to check whether the fever might have subsided. Almost immediately, he retracted his hand with shock. _He's burning up! He could very well die if I leave him out here! _Ryou bit his lip, knowing that he had to make up his mind fast, but no longer knowing what the right thing to do was.

It wasn't too late just to walk away…to pretend he never found the man, forget about this evening, and just go back home. Yes, that was the only sensible way out of this dilemma. _Just walk away… _Ryou thought to himself as he picked himself up off the ground, letting the man gently roll off his lap and resting back on the concrete. He was ready to begin dragging his feet towards the small, worn down apartment room he called home.

A sudden tug at the hem of his shirt made him jump, then whirl around. Ryou's chocolate brown eyes widened as they met deep, azure blue ones, a pair of glaring, angry eyes. Ryou remained unmoving in shock at the sight of those eyes, the eyes of a fighter who wasn't ready to give in to death. His hands clutched at Ryou's shirt with surprising strength for one who had appeared so weak just moments before while he was unconscious.

"Mo…ku…ba…" Three syllables left the man's lips before his fever-glazed eyes shut once again, and he collapsed against the building, his grip on the shirt loosening and finally letting go, leaving Ryou still frozen on the spot, staring at the man whose desperate eyes and raw voice still echoed in his mind.

By the time he finally moved from his standstill position a minute later, Ryou had made up his mind. His mouth was set into a determined line, and he brushed away the voice in his head telling him that this really wasn't a very good idea. Bending down, he grabbed the brunet around the waist, bringing the man into a standing position. Ryou braced himself as he kneeled down on the ground, grasping the man's wrist and bringing the taller man's raised arm around his own neck and over his shoulder. Ryou wasn't stupid enough to believe that he could try a one-shoulder carry of the man who was clearly taller and considerably heavier than him, especially with the added weight of the water. Besides, it would take quite a while to walk back to the apartment, and even if he could find a way to lift the man onto his shoulder, Ryou doubted he could keep it up for the duration of the trip home.

With the man's legs over one shoulder, arm and head over the other, Ryou switched his earlier grip on the stranger's waist to the back of his knee, and then carefully lifted himself up and began trudging his way forward through the puddles and mud, being careful not to let his feet slip, towards his apartment. Ryou used to have little upper-body strength, but a summer of harsh training with Rishid had toughened him up fast. Ryou smiled and quietly thanked his friend for it; never had he needed it as badly as he did now.

* * *

Half an hour, several streets, and three flights of dangerously unstable stairs later, Ryou fumbled with his many keys, finally finding the right one and managing to unlock the apartment door without dropping the man whose body was still carefully balanced across his shoulders. As he stumbled into the small room, Ryou saw a candle burning on the time-beaten table in the middle of the room. He frowned. He was sure that he hadn't left anything burning while he'd gone for his little outing, and even if he had forgotten to blow the candle out, it should have burned itself out already. As he looked to the small moth-eaten couch on against one of the walls, he noticed there was an unfamiliar jacket lying on it.

_I have to get both of us cleaned up before I start worrying about someone invading my apartment and lighting candles. __Besides, even if the visitor was a thief, there isn't anything to steal in here_. Ryou thought, somewhat thankful for the light source since otherwise the apartment would be pitch-black and rather hard to navigate through, even if it was only two rooms and one small bathroom. He walked the few steps across this 'living room' to another door leading into the bedroom and adjourning bathroom. Kneeling again, Ryou carefully lowered the taller man onto the floor near the bed, and then went to the other side of the room to light a few oil lamps that were considerable brighter than candles, and dug through the drawers to pull out a set of clean clothes. Walking back, Ryou opened the cabinet to retrieve a few relatively clean towels, careful not to slice his fingers on the rough wood as he shut the cabinet. He placed both clothing and towels on the bed neatly.

The boy proceeded to bathroom, lighting several lamps inside, and turned on the water in the shower stall. He was lucky his room even had running water; many apartment buildings on the block didn't provide such luxuries, yet Ryou still wished that he could borrow the tub in the bathroom of the Ishtar mansion to clean the man up. He sighed. This would have to do for now, and he could send a message to Marik or Ishizu tomorrow asking for a favor. It wasn't going to be pleasant explaining what had happened and why there was a stranger sitting in his apartment, but the four of them, Ryou, Marik, Ishizu, and Rishid had more or less grown up together, and they cared for each other like family. Ryou was sure he could convince them to help.

While the water warmed up, Ryou went back to the small bedroom and set to work, first dragging the man, whose breathes were rough and shallow, face flushed from the fever, into the small bathroom. He proceeded by stripping the man, removing the trench coat fairly easily, then beginning peel away the wet clothes from the brunette's creamy skin, not as pale as Ryou's own, but still giving the impression of a being rarely touched by sunlight. Right now, though, it held a red tint, radiating heat and reminding Ryou that he needed to work quickly to get the man cleaned up. The pile of wet clothing on the cold tile flooring grew, and soon included two shirts, a belt, pants, socks, and even the pair of leather shoes that the man had been wearing. Gasping as he saw the entire body covered with cuts and bruises, Ryou began questioning where the young man had come from and how in the world he had been injured in such a way. What was more shocking than the fresh wounds, however, were the numerous scars covering the pale back and torso, from knife cuts to whip marks that would never fade completely. He forced his mind not to linger on it. _Everyone has a story. Your own is more than enough for you to worry about. _Ryou thought to himself.

Moving on from the scars, Ryou felt his own face blush slightly as he worked on undressing the lower regions of the man's body, and he averted his gaze as he removed the last bits of fabric and carried him under the spray of warm water. After almost fifteen minutes of scrubbing and cleaning the various cuts and scrapes on the pale skin, Ryou finally twisted the shower tap tight, shutting off the rapidly cooling water, and dragged the brunet, who had managed to remain unconscious the entire time, onto a stool in the small bathroom. A shiver ran down both their spines as their feet touched the cold marble floor. Ryou toweled off the short brown hair, then dressed him in a white bathrobe and carried him, with great effort, onto the mattress of the full size bed that took up most the space in the bedroom saving enough room for a large, ancient-looking cabinet and a set of drawers.

Ryou shuffled through his cabinet and found a bottle of fever-reducing pills hidden deep in his drawer of shirts, usually saved for emergencies, and he took one out. Walking over and picking up the bottle of water he always kept at his bedside, Ryou poured the tablet along with water down the man's throat, and watched as he swallowed, luckily, without Ryou having to force it down. After pulling the rough, worn down but warm blanket over the man, Ryou stared blankly at the sleeping form on the bed for a few minutes before he realized that he too was wet and he had yet to change his own clothes. Heaving a sigh, he went to the bathroom and took a shower, the water considerably colder now than it had been previously. Ryou was lucky to have had hot running water at all in the apartment, so he wasn't about to complain that it ran out too quickly. He pulled on a set of pajama pants and a loose t-shirt after drying off, and snuffed out the lamps in the bathroom as he left.

Exhausted and not wanting to dwell on the events of the evening anymore, Ryou checked to make sure the medicine he had given to the man was doing its job before blowing out all the lamps and various other lights he had left burning. He closed the bedroom door, walked to the only other room in the apartment, collapsed on the scratchy old sofa, and fell asleep quickly, forgetting completely about the strange letter on the dining table even though he had just blown out the foreign candle minutes ago.

* * *

_A cry of pain…a tear stained face and wide eyes filled with fear._

"_Heh. We'll be taking good care of him now, so have a nice trip down to hell."_

"_LET HIM GO! Don't you _dare _drag Mokuba into this!" He spat in the larger man's face, glaring._

_A kick in the face, followed by the smell and taste of blood in his mouth…_

"_Don't worry. You won't be around to see what we do with your precious little brother." The cruel eyes turned towards the other men in the room. "Show this dog where he belongs."_

_He wasn't even aware of the pain when they closed in on him and began beating him…he laughed. This was nothing compared to the tortures of Gozaburo so many years ago. Then however, he felt something cold slam into the back of his head, and his vision began blurring._

"_Nii-sama!!!" The one thing that mattered to him, the one thing he wanted, _needed_ to protect, dragged away from him…It was the last thing he saw._

"MOKUBA!!"

Kaiba awoke with a barely contained scream, sitting up and breaking out in cold sweat as he gasped for breath. His brother's cries still echoed in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut, taking a minute to slow his rapidly beating heart and to regulate his breathing. It might just have been a bad dream, but Kaiba knew that reality wasn't far from it.

As he opened his eyes again, he realized that he was on a bed, sitting on a slightly lumpy and scratchy mattress. There was also a blanket that he had shaken off when he woke so suddenly lying off the side. Looking around, he noted that he was in a very small and dingy, but neatly organized room with two doors, one of which he supposed lead into a bathroom of some sort and the other of which likely linked the room to the rest of the house. Light bled into the room from a crack in the multi-colored chunks of cloth meant to act as curtains in front of what Kaiba suspected was a large window. He shivered as the sweat on his skin began drying off in the cold air of the room, and he realized he was wearing nothing but a white bathrobe.

A loud creak of a door opening made Kaiba jump and he spun around, staying on his guard as he looked at the man who had just entered the room. Surprised blue eyes met wide brown ones as the two stared at each other for a bit. A very pretty face, which Kaiba might almost have mistaken for a girl's had it not been for the Adam's apple apparent in his neck, framed by long, somewhat messy white-gray hair that extended below his shoulder blades onto his upper back, stared back at him. He instinctively became wary of the stranger, even though the chocolate eyes had warmed as the initial shock wore off, leaving them shining with only kind intent.

"You're awake! I didn't expect you to be up quite so soon…you had a pretty high fever and I was expecting you to be asleep until tomorrow morning, or at until least later this evening." The boy walked the short distance across to the room to the window, but after he pulled the makeshift curtains aside, Kaiba realized it wasn't a window at all, but rather a glass door, cracked in quite a few areas and with more than a bit of dust and grime stuck onto its surface, leading to a small balcony.

"...Who are you?" Kaiba finally asked after almost a full minute of awkward silence on his part. He had more questions, as he didn't remember anything that had happened after he was knocked out and Mokuba was dragged away from him, but he decided that starting a conversation by asking what the hell was going on would be rude to the boy that had clearly helped him out.

"My name is Ryou Bakura." The boy smiled warmly and walked over, holding his hand out. Kaiba extended his own and the two shared a firm handshake.

"Kaiba. Seto Kaiba." A curt reply came from his lips as he released Ryou's hand. "Where…?" He began to ask, but was cut off by the sudden slam of a door outside. Both the boys turned at the sound of feet shuffling closer and multiple plastic bags crinkling.

"RYOU!!" A voice from the other room called, footsteps coming closer. Before Ryou could reply, the bedroom door burst open revealed another young man around the same age as Ryou, but who looked significantly more mature than the wide-eyed, white-haired boy. He was dark-skinned, and had a head of messy ash-blond hair. He grinned as he spotted his friend, but that grin faded quickly into a confused and perplexed expression as he noticed Kaiba. Kaiba just stared back into the gray-blue eyes tinted with a flash of violet, not sure what to say to the man who had just barged in.

Sensing the unease between the two, Ryou quickly introduced them. "Umm, Marik, this is Kaiba-san, and Kaiba-san, this is Marik…"

"I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you except I can't be sure that statement would be true." Marik turned to Ryou with a casual smirk on his lips. "Who is he and why is he in your bed?"

"Hey! It's not like that!!" Ryou blushed furiously even as he attempted a glare at his friend for making such a comment, but Marik simply laughed. Ryou quickly changed the subject before that line of conversation could continue any further. "Marik, I had no idea you were coming today! Give me some notice next time!"

Marik stared at him. "Didn't you read the note I left here yesterday? You were out really late so after waiting for you for about an hour I just scribbled a note and left."

"_You_ were the one who left that there? Last night I was…busy and by the time I went to bed I was exhausted and didn't get a chance to read it."

"Oho…So my little Ryou was _busy _late last night, was he?" That comment from Marik resulted in more blushing from Ryou and another smirk from Marik.

Kaiba watched and listened in on their conversation, unable to join in and completely confused as to who these two were and why he was here to begin with. After a few more minutes of laughs and casual conversation, Marik and Ryou finally turned their attention back to him.

"Ok, so we've settled the fact that innocent little Ryou hasn't gotten a bed partner. So who is he, really?" Marik asked as he switched his gaze from Kaiba back to Ryou and to Kaiba again.

Ryou looked down for a moment, as if considering what to say, then turned and began whispering something into Marik's ear, looking more than a bit troubled.

"...You _what_?" All the humor that filled his voice drained out, and Marik's face paled. "Ryou, I knew you were a bit naïve, but…you know the way of life here better than anyone! I can't _believe _you would do something like that!" Marik shook his head in disbelief, frowning as Ryou hung his head in shame. He kneaded his temples in exasperation.

"...Ok, so whenever you feel like it could either of you bother explain to me exactly what you're talking about? Or better yet, where in this cursed world I am and why I'm here?" Sarcasm laced his words as Kaiba was beginning to get annoyed at the fact that both of them had been completely ignoring his existence and talking as if he weren't there at all.

Surprisingly, it wasn't Ryou who spoke, but rather Marik, who turned to him with a cold expression matching his own.

"You are in what was formerly the city of Midgard, a place of ruin and pain, a world of suffering that the clever, _clever _scientists of the up-world discovered and decided to use as an eternal prison for those who went against the new regime. That was the original purpose, but now various citizens who have enough power can use the corrupted government to have their enemies sent down here. At least that's what I've heard from the few up-worlders that survived here. Midgard's just a few miles beyond the mountains that overlook the upper realm, in a valley that extends to the sea." Marik explained as if he were reciting a passage from a textbook, his voice emotionless and his eyes dull.

"You are dead to the world above, wherever you cam from. I'm sure they're probably busy holding your funeral in the up-world if you have anyone to mourn for you. Either that or you've formally been declared a missing person. You've just lost your identity up there. Forever. Nothing leaves this valley. Not even as a dead body…Your time in the upper world has stopped."

He took a deep breath before continuing in the same flat tone, but as he reached the end of his explanation, there was a hint of anger and bitterness that burned in his voice. "You're here and alive right now because Ryou was an idiot and took in your pitiful self when he found you lying in the alley. Otherwise you'd be rotting outside in the wet mud like the rest of the creatures sent down to this valley of hell." He paused, waiting for Kaiba to absorb the information he was just told.

A few seconds passed in silence before Kaiba finally found his voice.

"...What the fuck is going on here? If this is some sort of sick joke, then you'd better drop it now." Kaiba snarled after digesting everything Marik had said. No one replied, and the only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock.

"...It's true…Kaiba-san, I'm sorry…" Ryou's voice trembled as he finally spoke, and he kept his head down.

Kaiba just stared, shifting his gaze from one boy to the other, and realized that this nightmare wasn't a joke at all. He bit hard on his lip for a moment, coming to terms with everything Marik had said. Then, to the surprise and shock of both the other men in the room, Kaiba began laughing, a cynical, self-mocking laugh.

"No identity, no escape…so this how you plan to erase me, Oshita." He muttered quietly to himself. "…a fitting punishment indeed for my excessive pride and carelessness."

* * *

**:: A/N :: **And that ends the first chapter! This was mostly an introduction to some of the characters, and it hopefully built a bit of background on the world this story is set in. More details will be revealed as the story goes on, but this is it for now! Thank you so much to anyone who reads this, and if possible, please take the time to review and let me know what you think! After all, it's truly the reviews that keep writers writing. Thank you again for taking the time to read this story!

~Ying Tao


	2. Chapter 2

**:: Disclaimer :: **I do not own or claim to own any of the Yu-Gi-Oh characters featured in this fanfiction! They are owned by the amazing Kazuki Takahashi and the anime by Studio Gallop. I do not own the music or lyrics to 'Watashi to Warutsu wo' either, which belong to Chihiro Onitsuka.

**:: A/N :: **I'm so sorry for the delay everyone, but I'm glad to say that this project won't be dropped anytime soon; I've spent far too much time devoted to it to let it stop before the story is ready to end. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed the previous chapter! They were incredibly encouraging, and I've only just found out how to reply to the reviews, so I'll be doing so soon! I'll save everything else I have to say for the end of the chapter, so as always, thank you for taking your time to read this!

* * *

**Chapter 2**

"_This strange banquet continues silently…as if trying to reveal something."_

"Would you like to explain to me what exactly you have going through that empty head of yours?" Marik asked as he flicked Ryou's forehead. Ryou winced and scooted away from his friend on the cushion, rubbing his head and looking at Marik with a combination of guilt and annoyance in his expression.

The two of them had left the bedroom at Ryou's suggestion. Kaiba needed time alone to think, and Ryou knew how hard the man sitting unmoving in the bedroom at the moment must be taking the changes in his life. In a single day, he had been dragged from the world he lived in, lost everything he owned or cared about, and almost died out in the middle of the streets. And so, Marik and Ryou now sat on the old, moth-eaten couch in the small living room of the apartment.

Marik sighed for the millionth time that afternoon. "Look, Ryou, I've known you since we were kids, and I know you better than anyone. Except maybe Nee-sama, but she knows everyone too well for her own good. I have an idea of what you were thinking when you picked him up, but…are you really prepared to face the consequences of bringing someone else into your life?"

Ryou buried his face in his hands, shaking his head in frustration. "I don't know. I don't _know_. I don't think that…_he_ would hurt Kaiba-san. He doesn't have any reason to. And I'm still strong enough to keep his spirit locked away."

"I wasn't talking about _him_, though now that you mention it, that's another problem you're going to have to deal with. The seals won't work forever, and one day _he'll_ get out. Nee-sama, Rishid, Ryuji, and I can all fight and defend ourselves, but you'll need to warn the new guy." Marik shook Ryou's shoulder and forced the boy lift his head from the small burrow his arms had created around it. "No, I was talking about the responsibility over another life. You saved that man sitting in the bedroom, so now his life is in your hands, and you have to teach him how to live here."

"If Ryuji-kun could survive down here, he can too."

"Ryou, Ryuji was different."

The pale-faced boy shook his head. "No, he had that same look in his eyes, that same fire. It was determination that matched Ryuji-kun's… Marik, you didn't see him, you didn't see the hatred and anger that was there in that one moment, that one glare. Besides, Ryuji-kun had no one to help him; I can try to guide Kaiba-san so that things will be easier for him."

"That's part of what I worry about, Ryou. Ryuji's will was proven when he lived on his own. He didn't need anyone to rescue him when he first came to this world. He wasn't prepared, but he fought tooth and nail to get to where he stands today." Marik looked Ryou in the eyes as he ended the discussion. "I'm not saying I doubt him, Kaiba, whatever his name was, or his will to survive. But this is not going to be an easy road for either of you."

Ryou smiled a sad, hopeless smile. "I have nothing left to lose, Marik…and I don't think he does either."

Marik just sighed and shook his head, then went over and ruffled the head of already mussed up white hair. "Well, good luck. From what I can tell the big guy's going to be nothing but trouble with his prideful airs."

"Just like you?" Ryou chuckled as he swatted his friend's hand away.

Marik grinned at that comment. "Nah, I think he'd be compared more to Ryuji. Those damn up-worlders think they're the center of the universe. I might be an arrogant dick at times, but I've got a sensible head on my shoulders. Ryuji's just a wild clown that lives on the emotional tides of the moment. And you might seem quiet and levelheaded at first glance, but then you go around and start dragging homeless men into your house without a second thought. I'm the only one who ever stops to think things over."

"And those _few_ rational moments of yours are the only things you have in common with Ishizu-san." Ryou observed as he ignored the string of insults that had been aimed towards him in Marik's little speech. "I still can't believe the two of you are related…how did you turn out to be such an impudent brat when you grew up with such wise and practical siblings?"

Marik shrugged. "The mansion's a suffocating place to live in. _Someone_ in the family needed to loosen up." He complained. "Nee-sama's always training, researching in the old labs on the other side of town, or looking over the ancient prophecies and legends. Rishid's a silent statue that takes everything too seriously. If you thought Nee-sama lacked a sense of humor, Rishid's about ten times worse."

As they laughed, letting the heavy mood from the previous conversation dissolve, neither of them noticed a tall figure with dark brown hair watching through the opened door of the bedroom, listening to their conversation with his eyebrows raised in curiosity at the two young men he had only just met.

* * *

After brooding alone in the bedroom for several minutes, Kaiba quickly came to the conclusion that sitting around was definitely not going to help his situation at all. So far, the only thing he knew about this town he was now stuck in until his dying day was that it was a nasty place that the bigwigs of the 'up-world,' as the blonde boy had referred to where he came from, could damn their social and political enemies to. He had to find out more…more, because only knowledge could give him the power that he needed to cling to.

_Power…yes, power. Surely, if I can just grasp to it, then I'll find a way to wake from this nightmare. This…nightmare…_Kaiba's thoughts began running wild and he brought his head and tried to knock some sense into them. _Damn it all, I can't afford to lose my mind now. I'm Seto Kaiba. I can take advantage of any situation and turn it in my favor…There's a way out of this, a way out without killing myself. I just need to find it. _Kaiba laughed as he contemplated, not for the first time, what would happen if he just took a knife to his neck and drew the curtain to this ridiculous play of his life. But he couldn't. No matter how often he had thought about it, no matter how close he had come to fulfilling that desire to escape in the past, something had always held him back.

_Mokuba…He's the only thing that's been keeping me in one piece all these years. And what did I ever give him? I almost killed him once in my foolishness and now I've let him down yet again. Who knows what that damn Oshita has done with him now that I've been successfully pushed out of the way? I completely failed to protect the only one in this world that I've ever needed, my only family._ Kaiba sunk once again in a pit of self-blame and hatred. He had to escape from this place, if only to see Mokuba again and save his little brother from that demon Oshita. _If he's still alive, that is._ A cynical little voice inside his head echoed before he pushed it away.

Deciding that lying around here and moping wasn't going to help him at all, Kaiba picked himself off the mattress and moved towards the door to the adjourning room, which was open just a crack. Having been lost in his thoughts, Kaiba didn't notice the conversation between the other two young men until now. Opening the door a bit more and being careful not to draw attention to himself, he listened in on what they were discussing. Unfortunately their voices were too low for him to hear anything clearly, so he opened the door fully and leaned against the doorway. The two of them were too absorbed in their conversation to notice the slight creaking of the wood.

"…nothing left to lose…" Bakura murmured. To which the darker-skinned man, _Marik_, Kaiba remembered his name was, sighed and rumpled the smaller boy's hair.

"…prideful airs…damn up-worlders…" A sneer painted his face, and then both started laughing as the conversation began carrying into something about Marik's sister and a guy named 'Rishid,' becoming much more light-hearted.

Deciding that the time was right for him to make an entrance now, Kaiba cleared his throat loudly, informing the two men of his presence. Their shoulders stiffened noticeably, and an awkward silence filled the room before Marik stood from the couch.

"…Well I'd best get going now. Ryou, join us for dinner at the mansion today? Your new _friend_ can come over too." He jerked his head towards where Kaiba stood. "And Ryuji will be there. Amelda and Valon won't be coming, and neither will Rafael nor the others, so don't worry. They're not very fond of dining with us and rarely attend our get-togethers anyways. It'll just be Nee-sama, Rishid, and Ryuji."

Ryou nodded. "We'll see you this evening then."

Marik began leaving, then turned around again and pointed at the two bags he had dropped on the small table. "Breakfast. You guys would probably rather talk peacefully over some food."

Before Ryou could give his thanks, his friend had already winked and shut the door to the small apartment, whistling as he walked down the stairs to the rain-soaked street outside.

* * *

When he turned around, he was glad to see that Kaiba had already settled down and was making himself comfortable on the couch. Ryou made his way to the bags Marik had left, opening them to remove two white paper packages, each containing a sweet-smelling bread bun.

"Mm." The bread, despite having lain on the counter for over an hour, was still a bit warm and smelled delicious to Ryou, who had skipped dinner and only ate some stale cheese for lunch yesterday. He tossed one to Kaiba, who caught it and gratefully bit into the soft roll. They both ate in silence, only sounds coming from the footsteps of those outside the building walking on the wet cement, and the quite chewing and swallowing of food.

Finally, Kaiba spoke. "How do you know him?"

"Eh?" Ryou jumped slightly at the question.

"The guy that just left." Kaiba clarified.

"Ah, Marik. He's a childhood friend. I've known him, as well as his older brother and sister, since we were six."

"So you guys were born here then…? Not from Asgard? Sorry, you call our nation the up-world, right?"

Ryou answered with an amused expression on his face. "It's fine. We know of Asgard. And in answer to your question, yes, we were. Most the residents here were born and raised in Midgard. There are few up-worlders that have what it takes to survive down here."

"…I see."

"But it doesn't mean there aren't any." Ryou quickly added. "Ryuji-kun is a friend of ours that we met about a year back who's been down here for almost three years already. He's from the up-world, like Kaiba-san."

He noticed that Kaiba's eyes lit up slightly at this.

"How do you…_know_ about what's beyond the mountains, about the land of Asgard, if no one here has ever gotten out before? None of the citizens in Ragnarok, or any of the other cities, ever knew that such a place existed, not even the royal family."

"You were acquainted with the monarchy?" He was surprised. He didn't know that Kaiba had been a person of high standing. Then, Ryou saw Kaiba wince just a little bit, barely noticeable, at the used of the past tense, and quickly began to apologize. "I'm so—"

Kaiba growled, and Ryou shrunk back as he realized that he had made yet another mistake. He made a mental note not to accidentally step on Kaiba's considerable pride again. "No need to be. I knew some of the idiots that rule Asgard, yes." He snorted. "Why do they not know about this-" Kaiba paused, seeming unsure of what to refer to their little town as. "I don't know."

Ryou just shrugged. "This area's supposedly roped off with several wards so that no one but a powerful priest could sense its existence. The royal family's always been blessed with particularly magic-sensitive heirs, even now when spells have become little more than an ancient legend, but I think that the scientists and researchers from the up-world have been fiddling with the wards."

"Of course…the Council of Wisdom." Kaiba reminded himself of the little power that remained their king's hands; practically the entire up-world as they knew it was run by a team of scientists, according to Ryuji, and Kaiba confirmed this. "How long has this place been here?" Kaiba looked up and asked.

"Why are you so curious?" Ryou wasn't annoyed with the questions, but he found it strange that Kaiba was more interested in learning the history of Midgard rather than panicking about his current state of affairs.

"I need to know about where the hell I am before I can find a way to fucking get out of here."

Ryou stiffened. "You can't, it's not possible—"

The glare Kaiba sent his way was more than enough to make him shut his mouth. He sighed. "You should talk to Ryuji-kun. He'd know…better than anyone the difficulty of finding a way back to the up-world, Asgard."

"Why…? What _is_ Midgard? How did it come to be?" Kaiba asked. Though his tone was cold, Ryou could here the hope and slight desperation echoing behind the wall that he had formed around his emotions.

"Asgard used to be a large, powerful empire, but your current nation with its capital at Ragnarok is all that remains of it now." Sighing, Ryou moved from his place leaning against the table to sit next to Kaiba on the couch, accidentally brushing the other man's leg in the process, and quickly murmuring an apology. He knew that he couldn't answer all the questions, but he could provide what he was allowed to.

"Midgard had always ruled itself, and never submitted to any other empire before the Asgardian throne came to power almost one millennia ago…and then the story gets complicated, because while the residents of Asgard claimed Midgard for their own and ruled over it in a sense, none of the common citizens from Asgard were aware of the existence of this city. Most the people today from both worlds have forgotten that history already. No used dwelling on it, after all." Ryou explained, reciting the skeleton of the history in a few sentences.

Kaiba nodded, absorbing all this information fairly calmly. Bakura wondered silently if he knew how much of the story was being left out, how much of the story didn't belong to him, but rather to the Ishtar family. _It's difficult for me to read his expressions…_

Hesitantly, Ryou began to ask his own questions, wondering who this boy was, how he knew the royal family, and most of all, why he was sent down here. "Umm, how, _why_ were you—"

Kaiba cut him off in that commanding tone of voice before he could finish his question. "I apologize for the hostility. I really should be more polite to my host…but I'm trying to process everything that's been going on right now. And I need some more time."

Ryou nodded, shutting his mouth and deciding that this was not the time to interrogate his new…friend of sorts. "Kaiba-san should probably go back to rest for a while. I need to go out for some business, but I'll be back later this afternoon and we'll go to the Ishtar mansion, Marik's place, for dinner." Ryou suppressed a laugh as a slim brown eyebrow arched upward at the proposition of dining with the energetic boy who had been there not an hour ago. "It'll be better than sitting around here, I promise. And you'll meet Ryuji-kun."

He turned to leave, but as his guest cleared his throat behind him, Ryou stopped and turned his gaze back on the brunet sitting on his couch. "Kaiba-san?"

"…Thanks. Bakura, right?" Kaiba looked away, appearing rather discomforted as if he were not used to showing appreciation to anyone.

Ryou grinned and suddenly the thought passed through his head that the big guy was actually kind of cute underneath that stiff exterior and ridiculous pride. "Just go rest and we'll talk more, later."

He shut and locked the apartment door just as Kaiba began shuffling back towards the bedroom.

* * *

Sleep. Browse through the tiny cupboards in the silly little kitchen for the last piece of stale bread, only to realize that he wasn't very hungry anyways. More sleep.

That was how Kaiba passed the next few hours while Ryou was out. He realized quickly enough that the tiny apartment was practically bare. There wasn't a single book or other source of even temporarily entertainment, though he didn't know what he was expecting from the rundown, indigent town he could see from outside the door to the balcony (which he never actually stood on because it looked like the rotting wood would give way if he did). The only electronically run item in the entire flat was a very old, very run down clock. If he were to be any judge by looking at the sky though, Kaiba would say that despite the age, it still worked.

By the time he woke from his fourth nap, he noticed on that very rusty and roughly metal-worked clock that it was already past five in the afternoon. _Bakura's probably going be back sometime soon…_Kaiba rose from the bed and went over to where his clothes were hung from some sort of hook on the ceiling in the kitchen. The fabric had dried, and so he brought them back to the bedroom and changed out of the bathrobe.

Just as he finished pulling on his long blue overcoat, he heard the fumbling of a lock announcing Ryou's return.

"Hey!" The younger boy's soft voice was cheerful as he entered the bedroom despite the fact that he had a shallow, red cut across his cheek that had definitely not been there a few hours ago and black soot staining his formerly white shirt. "Nice to see that Kaiba-san's up and dressed! I'll just go get myself cleaned up and we'll move out." He winked before making his way into the tiny bathroom and slamming the door.

As he heard the sink water running, Kaiba sighed and decided that the only thing he could do now was to move with the flow until he found a way out of this place.

* * *

"RYOU! I haven't seen you in more than two weeks! How've you been doing?" Following the overenthusiastic voice, Ryou's vision was filled with a rush of red and black as two arms pulled him into a tight hug. He realized that the man in front of him was probably bothering Kaiba quite a bit, but he ignored the awkward shuffling of feet behind him for now in favor of trying to find a way to free himself from the suffocating embrace.

They had just entered into the large mansion of the Ishtar's, and the first to greet them in huge entrance hall was a boy with wild black hair, some of it tied back into a messy ponytail behind him and the rest flowing freely around his face, kept out of his emerald eyes by a thick, crimson bandana headband embroidered with black diamonds. On his face were two black streak tattoos, one below each eye. His signature dice earring dangled on his left ear, and all in all, his appearance was definitely the most flamboyant among everyone in the dead city of Midgard.

"Ryuji-kun." He answered, trying to pry himself away from the iron grip of Ryuji. "I-I've been fine, thank you." Ryou managed to gasp out as his friend finally released him.

"Glad to hear that!" Ryuji cracked a grin.

Then those previously glittering green orbs grew cold as his gaze landed upon the form behind Ryou, though the easy-going smile was frozen in place.

"Ah, umm, Ryuji-kun, this is—"

"Oh, I know who he is alright. Marik told me all about him." His eyes narrowed, though the smile remained on his lips, though it drew into a tighter, forced line rather than the natural grin that had been there moments before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Kaiba -san."

Ryou looked up to gauge the taller man's reaction at the cold tone directed towards him. Kaiba stared back unwaveringly at Ryuji, and his feet had long stopped shuffling back and forth. Instead of replying, the brunet simply bowed his head in acknowledgement.

Before Ryou had a chance to break the silence that followed, a cheerful voice rang through the hall. "Hey guys! Come in already, dinner's ready!"

"Coming, Marik!" Ryou replied with relief.

"FOOD!" Ryuji broke his staring contest with Kaiba and pranced off gleefully, like a child, towards the dining room, but not before shooting one final glance back at Kaiba, a warning that he was determined to speak to the new stranger in time.

With a smile, Ryou turned to his companion.

"Shall we?"

* * *

Kaiba was used to silence during his meals, after all those times when he found himself working alone overtime in his office with a box of takeout fast food in front of him. He had grown familiar with the cheerful, if one-sided, banter of Mokuba as they ate, smiling at his younger brother and occasionally making a comment or two. What he wasn't accustomed to was the constant flow of chatter and conversation between so many people over their thick soup, rice, and chicken.

Directly across from him sat Marik, who was busy arguing loudly with Ryuji, neither of them managing to get much food down in their quarrelling. Next to Kaiba was Ryou, who was smiling and talking much more peacefully and quietly to the lady sitting at the head of the table, a woman introduced to Kaiba just minutes ago as Ishizu Ishtar, Marik's older sister and the second eldest of the three Ishtar siblings. Rishid Ishtar, Marik's older brother, was a man as tall as Kaiba himself and firmly built. Among the three, his appearance interested Kaiba the most. As well as the black marks beneath his eyes that all three of the siblings shared, upon the entire left side of his face were carvings, scars of strange symbols, like words of a different language. The top of his head was shaved bald, but the ends of his long, black hair still remained, hanging from the nape of his neck down and reaching mid-back. He was the only one other than Kaiba who ate his meal in complete silence, only offering the slightest hint of a smile every now and then when someone addressed him directly.

Feeling slightly out-of-place in such an unusual group, Kaiba tuned out the rest of the table, instead turning his gaze to examine his surroundings. The Ishtar mansion seemed to be quite an old structure. The stone walls were covered with carvings, the ceilings were high, and halls large, yet with all the talking and socializing in the oversized dining room, somehow the spacious area seemed much smaller and warmer.

Lost in his examination of everything around him, Kaiba nearly missed the fact that Ryou was calling him.

"Kaiba-san?"

"Ah, yes?"

Ryou broke out in a grin at his response. "Ryuji-kun is from the up-world as well! Did the two of you ever know each other?"

"…No, I'm sure I would have remembered someone like him." Kaiba replied curtly.

"His face looks kinda familiar but I'm not sure where I've seen him before." Ryuji shrugged. "Are you from the capital?"

Kaiba nodded. "We may have passed each other on the streets."

That concluding remark ended Kaiba's participation in any of the conversations that evening. He kept himself busy looking about the room and occasionally listening in on the others. Rishid the most rigidly silent, Ishizu the most mature…and Marik and Ryuji were just constantly slamming their fists on the table to demand attention. Ryou commented timidly in a bit of all the discussions, being dragged most often into Ryuji and Marik's arguments. He kept glancing at Kaiba every few minutes as if to check on him.

After all the food had been cleared away, the Ishtar siblings left to help in the kitchen, and Ryou tagged along with them, leaving Ryuji and Kaiba alone in silence at the dining table. Suddenly, the room that had been so warm just minute ago felt empty and Kaiba swore that he could feel a chilling draft in the air around him.

"He's too soft. He's only going to be hurt more like this…but he likes you, you know?"

"What?" Kaiba stared in confusion at the softer tone of the young man who had taken Marik's place in the seat in front of him. The emerald eyes, now calmer and soft, lacking both the mischievous glint and the hard sternness Kaiba had witnessed before, were gazing towards the door leading to the kitchen, which was left slightly ajar, revealing the sight of the Marik and Ryou splashing each other with dishwater, laughing openly, and Ishizu and Rishid with their backs turned, absorbed in the task of making up for the work that the other two weren't helping with.

"Ryou. He's kind, but he wouldn't just pick up a stranger off the streets for no reason; not even he's that naive. It makes you a special case, indeed."

Kaiba wasn't sure how to answer that. Was he expected to give thanks? Luckily, he didn't have the chance to say a word as Ryuji continued speaking without waiting for a response.

"I don't know who you are, or what kind of a life you come from, Kaiba. But I'll tell you right now not to hope to go back to it."

"I'm getting back to Ragnarok if it's the last thing I do." Kaiba's previously surprised and empty expression turned into an angry glower as he was told for the second time in a day that he had no way of getting out of this prison he was thrown into. Unlike the previous recipient of the glare, however, Ryuji wasn't meek and shy, and he definitely was _not_ just backing off.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help and give some advice here. If you're not going to take it from the one who's been trying to get himself out of this shit for the past three years, it's your loss. You may have Ryou's pity, but honestly, I could care less about what happens to you down here. The only reason I'm offering anything at all is because Ryou is my friend, and _he's_ the one who'd be hurt if you ended up dying on us so soon."

"I have someone _waiting_ for me back there. I can't say I don't give my…_thanks_ to Bakura, but I don't care who and what I have to get through to make my way back home again."

Ryuji just snorted at that. "You and the rest 'em out there in the cold. Except most never make it past the graveyard."

Before Kaiba was able to grace him with a reply to that particular remark, a shout sounded from the kitchen, followed by the crashes of glass on the hard floor. Ryuji's eyes darted towards the direction of commotion, and before Kaiba could blink and ask what had happened, the other man was already across the room and entering the kitchen.

Any hesitation he might have had at following Ryuji disappeared when screams that he immediately identified as Ryou's, though the voice was strangely raw, scratchy, and several tones lower than usual, began echoing through the halls. A few strides brought him where he needed to be, and he pushed the door that hadn't even been securely locked open.

The sight that greeted him as he approached the kitchen entrance made him freeze before he could step onto the cold, tiled flooring. Red…it was across the white marble, dripping on the shining blade of a kitchen knife that lay next to sharp glass, pieces of what used to be cups and plates. So much blood…he had almost forgotten the coppery smell, the way it pooled into little puddles and streaked splatters, an image he had not seen since the gruesome death of Gozaburo years ago.

And in the midst of it all, a shivering body lay on the floor, fair hair and light clothes stained, eyes squeezed shut.

"…"

* * *

**:: A/N :: **So ends chapter two of 'Waltz With Me!' This chapter was actually rewritten several times because I found many plot holes in the original concept of the story and the universe; in a way, the world that I've created has been rebuilt in the several months between the release of the first chapter and this one. I was trying to begin developing the major characters here, Kaiba, Bakura, Marik, and Ryuji. I hope that I haven't disappointed anyone in this chapter...I know that not much happens until the end, but I needed to set up and hammer out some details first.

Special Note :: Marik's name is often spelled, perhaps more correctly, as 'Malik,' a Middle-Eastern name from which his was derived. I've used 'Marik' in 'Waltz With Me' because I was following more towards the Japanese pronounciation, which used and 'r' character to represent a sound in between the English 'r' and 'l.' I'm sorry if that bothers you!

Reviews and advice are always very much appreciated, so if you catch any plot holes, grammatical errors...if you think the plot's moving too quickly, or too slowly, please let me know with a comment! Thank you all once again, and I wish you all the best!

~Ying Tao


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